Monday Musings…5th June 2023…Australia part 2…Heirisson Island, Kings Park, Perth,

17 Replies

Good morning and welcome to Monday Musings and a lovely wet morning it is with overnight much-needed rain…Today I am sharing some more of my Australian trip…After the nightmare journey I had on my UK trip last year I am pleased to report that the flight and connections were seamless and trouble-free… the bonus after all my stress and worry was we sailed through immigration and it was lovely to see Donna and the boys waiting for us …not boys anymore but tall strapping young men who tower over me but at heart they are still how I remember them.

The next morning after unpacking and packing a weekend bag… Donna drove us after first picking up her OH Brennan to Dongarra where they live…a town of about 2,500 people with beautiful bougainvillaea flowering everywhere we settled in our nice comfortable room and then had our first meal one of many of the beautiful crayfish(rock lobster)…the next morning she took me on an early morning walk…along the Irwin river beach trail…

We went uphill and down dale through dunes up and down lots of steps to the beach along the way we saw wild pink peppercorns…These limestone rocks house many honeybees you can sometimes see the honeycombs but I’m not brave enough to risk their wrath to collect one apparently some do but I’m sure they are experts and wear appropriate clothing…it was just lovely to see so many nooks and crannies where the bees make their combs…I’m guessing because of the remoteness the honey bees feel safe and have a bounty of wonderful plants and flowers from whence to collect the pollen they needed…it was a lovely walk and we only saw one other person… it is beautifully remote and so lovely a bit nippy but I soon warmed up and I was rewarded by a lovely hot chocolate in a local cafe when our walk was over…

The next morning as you probably know we were taken out on the cray boat and saw first-hand how crays are pulled…and also about the cray and fishing industry in Dongarra…it was just so lovely to be out on the open sea and witness the lifestyle in that area…

On the journey back to Perth on Monday after a lovely weekend spent with our darling girl we of course had to stop off for a pie I quickly learnt that pies are big business here and Aussies love their pies as does my OH…me I don’t eat pies but no matter as long as the men were happy and had full stomachs then the world was all right…

Back in Perth, I had some lovely early morning walks..Perth has changed and is more built up but still small by city standards…

Surrounded by water I love Perth and overlooked by the lovely Kings Park plus Heirisson Island is nestled between the suburbs of East Perth and Victoria Park on the Swan River.

The island is an important part of the City’s Nyoongar heritage and a beautiful oasis of calm in Perth, full of kangaroos.

The Nyoongar name for the area is Matagarup (meaning ‘leg deep’) which has been retained for the island. This video shows you how Perth City is surrounded by water and conservation of species is high on the agenda,,,

The kangaroos on this island are wild kangaroos and feeding is not allowed but they have plenty of vegetation. This video also shows a beautiful sunset over the City of Perth where else would you get a city skyline and kangaroos…

Freemantle is one of my favourite places in Perth there is a beautiful old undercover market and I was amazed at how many different cuisines there were on offer it was also very crowded…but Donna and I brought a lovely necklace we brought each other one…My choice was rose quartz and Fluorite which is a beautiful green colour…which means we can change our stone depending on our mood or outfit of course there was fudge -smile-plus a lovely honey cake which is only found in Perth…or Freeo to be precise…

The honey cake I brought home as a gift for a friend and she loved it..not having had anything quite like it before it really is a beautiful cake…they also do jars of honeymisu…which sounds absolutely delicious the cake upon going onto the website and learning they do honeymisu is a recipe handed down by the owners family who originates from the Czech Republic…so I am on the search for a cake layered with honey which I think I have found it looks very similar so watch this space I will be giving it a go very soon.

Kings Park which is high above Perth is a beautiful park…one that gives a 360 view over Perth City…

I absolutely love trees especially when the trunks form some wonderful shapes like the pink peppercorn I actually didn’t realise that the trees grew that big I’ve always thought that peppercorns grew on a bush..how wrong was I…

There were also many different varieties of the Eucalyptus and most were in flower…This trip has been full of different types of landscapes some very remote and stunning others beautiful and with lots of native plants..I have learnt much on this visit about the world we have inherited about indigenous peoples who live and work on some of these lands…who produce stunning artwork…it certainly was a time for family and discovery of places and previously untried foods a wonderful holiday …

More to come next time…I hope you have enjoyed this snapshot of my holiday in WA…

CarolCooks2 weekly roundup…28th May-3rd June 2023-Monday Musings…Perth Skyline, A-Z the Spice Island of Granada, Bumplings WA, Brendan Pang,Masterchef Australia, Smorgasbord Health, the Circulatory System…

18 Replies

Welcome to my weekly roundup of posts just in case, you are like me and find a roundup helpful especially when the week has been busy…This is my first roundup for a few weeks as I have been on a break to Australia we certainly noticed the drop in temperatures as it was the end of Autumn there hence the early mornings were brisk but the days were sunny albeit far cooler than I am used to however now I have dropped quite a few kilos I could raid my daughters and daughters-in-law wardrobes for warmer clothes…

We had the best time and had the best news on our return was that Donna’s scan showed no growth or change and as the doctor said they had no way of knowing as these were her first two lung scans whether the legion had been there all along… they will do follow up scans but are happy that it is nothing of concern which was a great relief all round…

I am easing my way back to blogging gently starting with Monday Musings where my muse pinpoints anything exciting or unusual I have read, seen or experienced during the last week it could be anything that piques my interest…we are now in June…can you believe it?

Monday Musings…

This Monday’s musing was a little about our Australia trip…also on my trip I saw a 3D printer in action and I was fascinated… my grandson made me a model of Perth and has promised to make me one of Bangkok he also made me another figurine and I can use it to store my SD cards…I spoke the other week about dissolvable vaccine patches and can now see how those and a gun can be made it is awesome to watch it in action I was just dumbstruck at the precision..

My little notebook fits in just fine and although it probably wasn’t intended for that use it sits next to me and reminds me of Josh every time I look at it and it is all about memories don’t you think?

Monday Musings…15th May 2023…Australia…

I think it is very important to be aware of what we can do as we age to help our bodies stay healthy…we all know diet and exercise are important as we age but are we aware of our circulatory systems and how we can recognise common problems and know how we can maybe prevent them or get the necessary treatment if some of these problems occur…To read this post in full from Smorgasbord Magazine please click the highlighted link below…

Smorgasbord Health Column 2023 – The Body Our Greatest Asset – The Circulatory System – Part Two – Common problems with blood vessels by Sally Cronin

When I was researching for this post I had a hankering to visit although I most probably never will however it is the sort of island that I would love to visit…It is not called the Spice Island for nothing and they are all spices I love and use although I admit I don’t use nutmeg enough… This fertile volcanic land, with its plentiful sunshine and warm air from the sea, makes it ideal to grow most crops, especially cocoa and nutmeg, both of which Grenada exports to the rest of the world…often the trees sit next to other fruits like mango or cinnamon, so when the roots mix, the cocoa absorbs flavours giving it a distinctive taste…Grenadian cocoa for me is one of the best…I hope you enjoy the virtual tour of this beautiful island of Grenada…

CarolCooks2…A-Z World Cuisines…Part 30…Grenada…the Spice Isle…

I’m a firm believer that our diets are a reflection of some of today’s lifestyle diseases and that by changing our diets we can help our bodies remain as disease free as possible…Part 3 of this series written by Sally of Smorgasbord Magazine advises us on a Healthy eating plan – for the circulation system…

Personally, I have been shocked by the recent figures worldwide on type 2 diabetes and by friends who have this and have had to have amputations it has scared the bejesus out of me and made me wonder why when diseases like this can be addressed by diet and exercise that more people don’t help themselves…

To obtain this plan please click the highlighted link below which will redirect you to Smorgasbord Magazine where you can read the original post…See you there xx

Smorgasbord Health Column 2023 – The Body our Greatest Asset – The Circulatory System – Part Three – The Healthy Eating Plan by Sally Cronin

Thank you for joining me today…I hope those of you who have a bank holiday are having lovely weather…I am looking outside as I type and the wind is blowing up so methinks we may get another tropical storm it is the rainy season and most welcome…

Pictured below are some snapshots from my Australian visit…my daughter knows what a fan I am of Masterchef both the English and Australian ones in particular so Donna and my grandsons took us to Bumplings an Airstream dumpling kitchen she also gave me a book on dumplings signed by Brendan Pank of Masterchef fame…the food was absolutely delicious we were lucky to only have a short wait for a table…I had the spicy Beef Dan Dan Noodles and Donna had the Crispy Pork Wontons pictured, the boys had Bao Buns and MauritianPork Belly Noodles…

The beautiful majestic Baibab Tree was one of the trees in Kings Park a beautiful park that overlooks Perth City…Dongara is where my daughter lives and those steps both down and up were part of the walks we went on she certainly had me exercising those glutes…The view over the gorge and the river was from the skywalk in Kalbarri(not) Kalbassi in the image I got my r’s and s’s in a muddle-smile- I will share more tomorrow in Monday Musings…Hope to see you there in the meantime enjoy your Sunday xx

Smorgasbord Health Column 2023 – The Body our Greatest Asset – The Circulatory System – Part Three – The Healthy Eating Plan by Sally Cronin

16 Replies

I’m a firm believer that our diets are a reflection of some of the lifestyle diseases and that by changing our diets we can help our bodies remain as disease free as possible…Part 3 of this series advises us on a Healthy eating plan – for the circulation system…

To obtain this plan please click the highlighted link below which will redirect you to Smorgasbord Magazine where you can read the original post…See you there xx

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2023/06/01/smorgasbord-health-column-2023-the-body-our-greatest-asset-the-circulatory-system-part-three-the-healthy-eating-plan-by-sally-cronin/

CarolCooks2…A-Z World Cuisines…Part 30…Grenada…the Spice Isle…

37 Replies

 

Welcome to my latest A-Z …World Cuisines…where I will be looking at the countries of the world, their food and national dish or their most popular dish around the world…by this I mean some dishes are eaten in many countries as their fame has spread around the world…

Today I am looking at the cuisine of Grenada…widely known for its spices, giving it its common nickname as the Spice Isle. Grenada is a significant source of cloves, cinnamon, and ginger, nutmeg among others.

Nutmeg syrup is a sweet syrup that has been infused with nutmeg. It’s an ‘institution’ in Grenada and one of those things that most visitors want to take back home with them. There’s only one problem with doing this – it’s so good, it runs out fast!

It can be used on pancakes, waffles with bananas, ice cream or yoghurt. The nutmeg flavour can only be described as delicious and you can even use it on toast with butter, to create a snack or breakfast that tastes a little like French toast.

All you need is three ingredients…

  • 8floz water
  • ½ lb brown sugar
  • 2 nutmegs cut in half.

Add everything to the pan and allow it to simmer for 30 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when it will coat the back of a spoon. You’re looking for small bubbles, not a boil. Catch it before it turns to candy and you’ll be in heaven with this delicious – lip-smacking good nutmeg syrup sauce.

Now put it into a squeezy bottle or a glass jug and keep it in the fridge. Some opt to leave the nutmegs in the sauce as they continue to add flavour during storage and they add to the visual appeal…add a bow and it would make a lovely unusual Christmas Pressie…especially if you add just a touch of rum and cinnamon…

Grenada is a small island country of volcanic origin in the eastern Caribbean. It lies just 160 kilometres north of Venezuela. Grenada has a ridge of mountains that runs from north to south with steep valleys. It also features large areas of tropical rainforest.

Yams, potatoes, okra, mangoes, beans, turmeric and some fruits native to the Caribbean such as soursop and golden apple can be found here plus homegrown produce like bottles of coconut oil and nutmeg syrup which I have not heard of or tried although I am a fan of nutmeg…it gets better…Grenada is one of the world’s largest importers of nutmeg, and the aromatic spice is used in an array of local dishes. What better way to enjoy it than by eating a refreshing nutmeg ice cream by the sea? The velvety treat makes use of freshly ground nutmeg and heavy cream for the ultimate island dessert…yum…

Grenada’s national dish which is cooked in most homes over the weekends is a one-pot stew made using breadfruit, a meat of your choice, dumplings, callaloo, seasoning and coconut milk and gets its name from the layer of oil that settles to the bottom of the pot.

Other favourites include goat curry and the crab back, made with fresh crab meat baked with herbs, wine and cheese sauce…Goat curry seems to be coming up on my radar a lot lately and methinks I need to make one…I first came across goat’s meat sold from stalls piled high at Ridley Row market in Dalston in the London Borough of Hackney…as I follow many Indian cooks goat also features highly in Indian recipes and quite recently while in Australia it cropped up again and here we are…goat is on the menu…quite popular around the world it seems…

This fertile volcanic land, with its plentiful sunshine and warm air from the sea, makes it ideal to grow most crops, especially cocoa and nutmeg, both of which Grenada exports to the rest of the world…often the trees sit next to other fruits like mango or cinnamon, so when the roots mix, the cocoa absorbs flavours giving it a distinctive taste…Grenadian cocoa for me is one of the best…

Breakfast is like many other Caribbean countries as it consists of a saltfish bake…Bakes are a type of bread that’s fried until golden brown. You can choose from an array of side dishes, such as cheese or sausage; however, saltfish fried with tomato, onion, and herbs are among the most popular…

Granada is an island so of course seafood is fresh and bountiful…and a local favourite is lambie souse. Lambie is the name for conch, and it’s the star ingredient of this particular dish. Conch is tenderized and slowly cooked with a mixture of lime juice, onion, garlic and hot pepper, to create a soupy, seafood meal that’s also a fantastic source of protein.

Plus if you are holidaying in Granada you cannot without sampling Callaloo Soupo. Made with the dasheen leaf an ingredient found throughout the Caribbean,  callaloo soup is found on all of Grenada’s food menus. The leafy green soup boasts a creamy texture, thanks to the coconut milk, and it’s great as a starter or a quick snack at any time of day.

Famed for its local Craft beers and(Rum), no Caribbean trip is complete without sampling either or both… one of the best additions to Grenada’s culinary scene is the West Indies Beer Co., the eastern Caribbean’s first microbrewery…of course, there are other rum distilleries to take a tour around like the Westerhall Estate Distillery, the third oldest distillery in Grenada…I have it on the best authority that the rum is very, very good…

Thank you for joining me today for this virtual tour of Granada the Spice Island I hope you enjoyed the tour…

Smorgasbord Health Column 2023 – The Body our Greatest Asset – The Circulatory System – Part Two – Common problems with blood-vessels by Sally Cronin

10 Replies

I think it is very important to be aware of what we can do as we age to help our bodies stay healthy…we all know diet and exercise are important as we age but are we aware of our circulatory systems and how we can recognise common problems and know how we can maybe prevent them or get the necessary treatment if some of these problems occur…To read this post in full from Smorgasbord Magazine please click the highlighted link below…

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2023/05/25/smorgasbord-health-column-2023-the-body-our-greatest-asset-the-circulatory-system-part-two-common-problems-with-blood-vessels-by-sally-cronin/

Monday Musings…29th May 2023…I’m Back! Cray Fishing…

31 Replies

Welcome to Monday Musings…I am back from my break to Australia its a tad cold as its Autumn there but the days after a cold start were warm and sunny we didn’t have any rain…it was lovely to be able to raid my daughter’s wardrobe now we are the same size in clothes so I borrowed a couple of sweatshirts/hoodies…

It was lovely to go for long beach walks and just chat and admire the scenery we then finished with a lovely hot drink…the bougainvillaea flowers (seen in the header image)are in full glorious bloom everywhere… the name stands for passion. To the Victorians, a gift of bougainvillaea was meant to ignite passion. In other parts of the world, bougainvillaea flowers stand for welcoming visitors, peace, and free trade…a beautiful flowering bush of bougainvillaea always makes me smile and everywhere we went they were in full glorious bloom…

On arrival in Australia, we were greeted by our darling daughter and our two grandsons who were a tad smaller when I last saw them and now they are fully grown young men…after settling down and unpacking in our eldest grandson’s beautiful home we had something to eat, a welcome shower and then sleep…after our long journey…

The morning came and we were taken to our daughter’s home in Dongarra where we experienced a spot of pulling cray pots never in a million years did I expect to see my darling girl setting up the bait in the pots, grappling with ropes and swabbing down the decks once the crays had been pulled and the new pots with bait dropped back into the ocean we were then treated to a beautiful rock lobster breakfast cooked on the boat within 30 minutes of being caught ..it was so beautiful and fresh…amazing…

Donna going out in the small skiff to bring the cray boat in so we can get on board the boat easier…

It was a wonderful experience and a first as any crays I have eaten before this was actually Yabbies…I thought crays were just big shrimp but how wrong was I …it is a beautiful rock lobster…

You live and learn…

My first attempt at a video so it isn’t professional just how it happened…

That’s all for today your first snapshot of our holiday to Australia…next time I will take you on a walk and show you some of the beautiful scenery we saw on our visit to Kalbarri, the roos and the Sky Walk…

Thank you for joining me today I hope you are all well and happy…Normal service on this blog will be resumed soon xx